Maybe it’s not ADHD, maybe it’s something else we’re not seeing. I’ll be discussing this with today’s guest Dr. Arthur Lavin. Dr. Lavin was educated at Harvard (BA) and Ohio State (MD). At Harvard, Boston Children’s Hospital, and MIT, he completed training, became board-certified in general pediatrics and the subspecialty of newborn medicine, taught, and published original research in such journals as Science. He has been in pediatric practice for more than 25 years and has served on several national committees of the AAP, as president of the Northern Ohio Pediatrics Society. Dr. Lavin is also co-author of the book, “Who’s the Boss? Moving Families from Conflict to Collaboration.
Let’s dive into Dr. Lavin’s incredible insights on school struggles, childhood experiences, and ADHD.
[00:01 – 07:57] Opening Segment
- Introducing today’s guest, Dr. Arthur Lavin
- Expertise and work
- Dr. Lavin gives us a bit of his background
- Experience in Harvard training
- Passionate to work with people through relationships
- Dr. Lavlin’s experience in the Neo-Natal ICU
- Building trust with families
- Dr. Lavin’s thoughts on psycho-social
- It’s our entire experience
- Connecting with people
[07:58 – 19:05] Let Them Solve the Problems They Started
- Dr. Lavin talks about writing his book
- Meeting the co-author
- The collaboration process
- Dr. Lavin shares about speaking on struggles and family dynamics
- Most intense discussions
- It’s not the parent’s job
- If the child creates the problem let the child solve it
- Person A can’t solve the problem that person B started
- The adolescent makes the choices
- Looking at yourself as the parent
- What makes you care so much about this issue
- It may not be all about the child
[19:06 – 34:32] Impairing Childhood Behaviors; Is it Really ADHD?
- Dr. Lavin shares his insights on ADHD
- Coming at ADHD like it’s a fever
- Why do you have a fever?
- It is a symptom of underlying issues
- When you treat the better explanation
- A 3rd of the kids coming in for ADHD didn’t actually have it
- AAP article – link below
- Understanding the underlying issues
- My own analogy
- Do the drugs work?
- Learning disabilities, anxiety, messy family
- How relationships come into play
- An opportunity to help
- These issues tend to be mutually exclusive
- What is the engine driving the issues?
- Good relationships get answers
- The diagnosis is in the history
[34:33 – 40:50] The AAP Guidelines
- Dr. Lavlin talks about the changes in the AAP
- The two papers on the guidelines – links below
- Differential Diagnosis
- Looking at all the possibilities and resources
- We talk about other helpful resources
- Look at the resources below
[40:51 – 52:03] Closing Segment
- What would you say to a younger Dr. Lavin?
- Recognize that the MD carries a lot of power
- Thoughts on burn out and relationships
- The music analogy
- Final Takeaways
- It’s all about relationships
- Child behavior problems take reframing
- Think bigger to include other issues
- The fever analogy
- Use your title
- Do what you love and love what you do
- Dance
Tweetable Quotes:
“That’s when I learned, in my time in the ICU, that I was more suited, more interested, more passionate really, about working with people through relationships rather through crises.” – Dr. Arthur Lavin
“If you take care of someone, it’s as if you are an honored person in a king or queen’s court.” – Dr. Arthur Lavin
“How do you know it’s a better explanation? Because when you treat the better explanation, the ‘ADHD’ symptoms go away.” – Dr. Arthur Lavin
Resources Mentioned:
Books:
- School-aged Children Who Are Not Progressing Academically: Considerations for Pediatricians
- ADHD: Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents
- TED talk with Nadine Burke Harris: Adverse Childhood Experiences
- TED talk with Dr. Abraham Verghese: A Doctor’s Touch
If you’d like to connect with Dr. Lavin email [email protected]. Also, visit www.drsforamerica.org/authors/dr-arthur-lavin to learn more about his space.
If you’d like to connect with me, you can find me at LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter or email me at [email protected]. To learn more about me visit https://www.medicalbhs.com/
